Dancing in the Rain
“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass; it’s about learning to dance in the rain.”
There are many quotes emblazoned on new Queensborough student Emily Ramcharitar’s bedroom wall, but that one is her favorite.
Metaphorically, the storm represents challenge or adversity; when it comes to her, however, that storm is quite literal, catching everything around her that catches her attention.
As she says: “I’m not a person that can sit still and just not do anything.”
Ramcharitar comes to Queensborough after graduating from Business Technology Early College High School (BTECH), an early college initiative that provides students interested in Business Technology the opportunity to get a foundation in the field, as well as a pipeline that leads to college and ultimately a career.
She went to other schools first, but whether it was because of the community or commute, none were a good fit for her. In fact, it wasn’t until her sophomore year that she found BTECH thanks to a friend, and after seeing it once, she knew that it was the place for her.
And that feeling was right on the money — if life is a storm, she didn’t miss a step within it.
There are the activities that a “typical” student might be engaged in, such as being a member of two different sports teams or being president of the school’s National Honor Society (NHS), but Ramcharitar went well beyond those and became a presence on the administrative side of things too.
“I helped the school with tasks like volunteering, orientation, tours, as well as the planning and execution of carnivals and similar events. If there was anything going on that would benefit from a student’s assistance, they knew I was someone they could go to.”
Yet all those pale in comparison to her greatest feat: being selected to give a speech at graduation.
Despite having a 95 GPA, Ramcharitar was not the valedictorian. However, she is a very good speaker thanks to a speech course she took as a sophomore. So good, in fact, that she not only won a competition among the top students from each speech class, but was also voted by her peers to give an “inspiring and motivational speech to the graduating seniors.”
And so, she did.
In a speech about heroes and villains, Ramcharitar highlighted the importance of letting your decisions — rather than your circumstances — define who you are.
“What matters most is not what happens to us, but how we respond to it. We cannot always control the challenges we face, the disappointments we experience, or the obstacles placed in our way. However, we CAN control the choices we make afterward. We can allow our hardships to define us, or we can allow them to strengthen us. We can let our struggles become excuses, or we can let them become motivation.”
“As we enter this next chapter of our lives, remember that your past does not determine your future. Your mistakes do not define your worth. Every day gives you the opportunity to write a new page in your story. The choices you make, the character you build, and the way you treat others all shape the person you will be tomorrow.”
And if there’s anyone who understands the significance of those words it’s Ramcharitar herself, as she looks to dance through a storm of a lifetime.
Following in the footsteps of her father who works as a diesel mechanic and even owns a shop, she intends to become a mechanic herself and inherit the shop. From there, her goal is to expand the business to make it more “female dominant” to address what she sees as a lack of gender parity within the automotive and mechanic industries.
“What made me realize that I wanted to do this was because women in male-dominated fields are so, like, underestimated. In a world where they say that it’s modernized and women are equal to men and men are equal to women, we don't see that a lot, especially in male dominant fields like automotive and diesel.”
“And I was like this is something that I feel should be changed.”
To that end, she is now enrolled at both Queensborough and the New York Automative and Diesel Institute (NYADI), for an A.S. in Business Administration and a Certificate in Truck and Diesel Service Technology, respectively.
It’s a schedule that makes one wince just thinking about it, but she’s ready for it. Aside from the time management skills she picked up during her time at BTECH, she took five courses during the summer. With those in her bag, she expects to complete all her requirements at Queensborough by December.
And you can bet academics won’t be the only thing she’ll be up to.
Whether it’s attending events on campus, hanging out with friends on Saturdays, or spending time with her family, Ramcharitar might be neck deep in coursework, but she still plans to have a social life.
That said, there is one thing she knows — albeit jokingly — that she’ll have to give up to see this dance to the end.
“I can kiss my sleep goodbye!”
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